A Mexican wolf that is endangered was captured over the weekend after wandering hundreds of miles from Arizona to New Mexico and is now being prepared for a matchmaking effort as part of federal reintroduction efforts.
Searching for a Suitable Partner
The newly captured female wolf will be given the choice between two brothers who are also at the state wolf management facility in central New Mexico. She will be monitored to see if she shows interest in one or the other.
Reintroduction Efforts
It is expected to take until the end of February or early March to determine if their efforts are successful. It has been 25 years since Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced to the southwestern United States. Through captive breeding and targeted releases, wildlife managers have managed to increase the population of this rare wolf species in North America.
Border Challenges
Federal and state wildlife managers had been tracking the lone female wolf for several months, waiting for an opportunity to capture her again. Her journey began in the mountains of southeastern Arizona and crossed the dusty high deserts of New Mexico before reaching the edge of Valles Caldera National Park. She spent weeks wandering between the refuge and the San Pedro Mountains. After showing no signs of returning to the wolf recovery area, officials decided to capture her before the breeding season began.
The opportunity came on Saturday near the community of Coyote, New Mexico. A helicopter crew working with the New Mexico Game and Fish Department darted her with a tranquilizer and then prepared her for the journey south to the Sevilleta wolf management facility.
The Goal of Reintroduction Efforts
Brady McGee, the Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, said, “These dispersal events are usually aimed at finding a partner. Since no other wolves are known in the area, it is unlikely to be successful and she could get shot mistakenly.”
Officials stated the goal is for the balancing efforts to pay off in the spring, and more wolves can be released to increase the wild population.
Environmental Challenges
Environmentalists had urged federal managers to allow the lone female wolf to remain, noting that previous reintroduction efforts had not been successful after her first attempt to head north last winter. They also pointed out that the wolf’s movement is evidence that recovery boundaries are insufficient to meet the needs of a growing population.
Greta Anderson, deputy director of the Western Watersheds Project, said, “What we can say is that we know that wolves are moving toward dispersal as a means to mate with unrelated wolves. In the case of Mexican wolves, these unrelated partners are hard to come by due to the level of inbreeding in the population and the narrow range in Arizona and New Mexico where wolves are allowed.”
Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona have long complained that wolves are responsible for killing dozens of livestock annually and remain concerned about any expansion of wolf ranges. They are joined by rural residents in Colorado where officials plan to release gray wolves there in the coming weeks.
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